Apparatus for stripping electric cables



NOV. 16, 1937. c p SECKHAM 2,099,084

APPARATUS FOR STRIPPING ELECTRIC CABLES Filed Sept. 29, 1954 2sheets-sheet 1 55 Jam NOV. 16, 1937. Q SECKHAM 2,099,084

APPARATUS FOR STRIPPING ELECTRIC CABLES Filed Sept. 29, 1934 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 2.

Patented Nov. 16, 1937 uNiT-s stares rrsr rel-ea APPARATUS FOR STRIPPINGELECTRIC CABLES Charles Percy ,Seckham, Wakefield, England Claims.

'The .invention relates to apparatus for enabling the sheathing oflead-covered, paper-insulated or rubber-insulated cables to be .cut orslit, so that the-lead sheathing andcopper 5 conductors can berecovered.

There have,II am aware, been machines for the purpose referred 'to, butthey have been costly and have required considerable adjustment toenable different diameters of cable to be operated .upon.

I'he .object of my invention is to provide a simple and cheap machine orapparatus in which lead-covered, paper-insulated or rubber-insulatedcable of any diameter can be dealt with, and

10 which necessitates a minimum of adjustment when a change is made fromone diameter of cable toanother.

A machine according to the invention comprises a suitablesupport orframe in which there 20 is journalled a serrated feed roller of -V'form, the

spindle of which may be adapted to be rotated manually either directlyor through gearing, or which may be driven by power if preferred.

Above the feed roller there is provided a vertiv .cally movablespindle-orblock capable of adjustlment towards and away from the feedroller by means ofa screw and hand 'wheeLthe spindle being threaded andthe hand wheel constituting a .rotatable nut restrained from verticalmovement.

The lower end of the spindle or block carries a cutter disc, which ismounted to rotate loosely on .a spindle extending parallel .to andvertically above'that ofthe feed roller.

.Aplough member may be provided adjacent the :de'liveryside of the feedroller and cutter,.for the purposeof opening out the slit insulation andfacilitating its removal from the core. In the .accompanyingodrawings,Fig. 1 is a front elevation; and 40 Fig. 2 a side elevation of a cablestripping machine according to the invention.

Referring to the drawings, a represents a suitable form of pillarbracket in which there is journalled a spindle '0 carrying a V-shapedroller 5 c the surface of which is serrated so that it will function togrip the surface of a cable and, as the roller is rotated, feed thecable forward.

A toothed gear (1 on the spindle b meshes with a pinion d, and a gearwheel d fast with the pin- 50 ion d meshes with a pinion d loose on thespindle b and associated with a hand Wheel e. In place of being driventhrough gearing as shown, the spindle b may carry the hand wheel, or itmay be arranged to drive the spindle from a suit- 55 able source Ofpower.

Movable vertically in a guide a above the feed roller cis a block f,.the said block having a screw ,f' which passes through a nut member 9restrained from vertical movement by being located between the guide aand an overhanging guide a 5 disc h which is disposed vertically abovethe centre of the feed roller 0.

Adjustablysecured to the block 1 so as to move vertically therewith is abracket 1 the lower end of which is furnished with a substantially V-shaped plough member 9'.

When a piece of cable I0 is to be operated upon, the cutter block 1 isadjusted to the correct height to admit of the end of the cable beingintroduced beneath the cutter and between the latter and the feedroller. The cutter block is then screwed down, and the feed rollerturned sufiiciently to traverse the cable a short distance until thecutter has sunk in sufiiciently to penetrate through the lead and/orinsulation or sheathing.

Whenthe cutterhasbeen sunk in to the required depth, the feed roller isrotated in a direction to cause the cable to be traversed beneath thecutter, during which movement the sheathing or insulation of the cableis slit longitudinally by thecutter which .is caused to rotate by itsfrictional pressure against the cable.

As the cable, after having had its insulation or sheathing slit up, istraversed forward, the plough member 7' enters .between the slit edgesand functionsto spreader open them out, and thus facilitates the removalof the insulation of sheathing from the core of the cable.

As the cutter member 71. is not driven positively, the construction ofthe machine is kept very simple, and as the position of the cutter blockis adjustable vertically by rotation of the nut member g the adjustmentof the apparatus to suit difierent diameters of cables is a very simplematter.

If desired, the feed roller 0 may be provided with a cutter disc at thebase of its V groove, so that as the cable is traversed it will be slitat two diametrically opposite points, and the cutter disc 71. may bedisposed at the base of the groove of a V-shaped serrated roller, so asto increase the grip on the cable. These two modifications justmentioned are really, however, only of value when cable of the samediameter is likely to be operated upon. In both cases an alteration inmember J will enter the cut made by the cutter h. The width of the rearend of the wedge member J is very substantial, as shown in Figure 2, soas to spread the covering or casing of the cable wide open tosubstantially a distance equal to the diameter of the cable. Thus. thecable can be readily removed from its casing is. The cutter it presentsa V-shaped-cutting edge to the casing is of the cable so that it willspread the cable casing slightly to admit the entrant point or end ofthe wedge member J tofurther spread the cable casing is. Except for thewedge member J it would be necessary to spread the cable casing is withthe fingers in order to remove the cable therefrom. It would not bepossible to provide a cutter h which would sever the cable casing andspread it to the requisite degree to admit of ready removal of the cablefrom the casing it.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

l. A cable stripping machine comprising in combination, a cutter member,a work sustaining member arranged in opposition to the cutter andbetween which and the cutter the work is adapted to be forced, separatecarriers for said cutter and work sustaining members, means foradjusting at least one of said carriers toward and from the other, and aspreader member carried by said adjustabie carrier and disposed in thepath of the severed portion of the work as it leaves the cutter memberfor spreading the same, said spreader member being adjustable relativeto the cutter member and said spreader member being wedgeshaped andhavin a pointed entrant end and a flared rear end whereby the latterwill spread the cable covering to substantially expose the cabl thereinwhich is to be removed.

2. A cable stripping machine comprising in combination, a cutter member,a work sustaining member arranged in opposition to the cutter andbetween which and the cutter the work is adapted to be forced, aspreader for the severed part of the work and arranged to engage thesame as it leaves the cutter, and means for adjusting said spreadertoward and from the work relative to the depth of the cut and saidspreader member being wedge-shaped and having a pointed enpart of thework arranged to engage the same as 1 it, leaves the cutter, and asingle means for vertically adjusting both cutter and spreader for cutsof difierent depths, and means for adjusting the spreader verticallyrelative to the cutter and said spreader member being wedge-shaped andhaving a pointed entrant end and a flared rear end whereby the latterwill spread the cable covering to substantially expose the cable thereinwhich is to be removed.

4. A cable stripping machine comprising in combination, a cutter member,a work sustaining member arranged in opposition to the cutter andbetween which and the cutter the Work is adapted to be forced, separatecarriers for said cutter and Work sustaining members, means foradjusting at least one of said carriers toward and from the other, aspreader member carried by said adjustable carrier and disposed in thepath of the severed portion of the work as it leaves the cutter memberfor spreading the same, a single means for vertically adjusting bothcutter and spreader for cuts of difierent depths, and means foradjusting the spreader relative to the cutter and said spreader memberbeing wedge-shaped and having a pointed entrant end and a flared rearend whereby the latter will spread the cable covering to substantiallyexpose the cable therein which is to be removed.

5. In a machine for stripping the cover from a cable comprising incombination a cutter memher, a work sustaining member arranged inopposition to the cutter and between which and the cutter the work isadapted to be forced, separate carriers for said cutter and worksustaining members, means for adjusting at least one of said carrierstoward and from the other, a spreader member carried by said adjustablecarrier said spreader member being wedge-shaped and having a pointedentrant end and a laterally flared rear end approximately of a Widthequal to the diameter of the cable, the pointed end of said spreadermember beingdisposed rearwardly of the cutter and aligned with the cutin the covering of the cable whereby to spread the same and permit thecable to be taken out without the necessity of spreading the cablecovering with the fingers.

CHARLES P. SECKHAM.

